When It’s An Even Worse Time To Visit North Korea

Dennis Rodman again visited North Korea, again meeting with his “friend for life” Kim Jong-un. An issue this time around: his refusal to ask for the return of a U.S. prisoner in the country. From the New York Times:

“Guess what? That’s not my job to ask about Kenneth Bae,” Mr. Rodman said, according to The Associated Press. Then, referring to President Obama and former Secretary of State Hillary Rodham Clinton, he added, “Ask Obama about that. Ask Hillary Clinton.” Then he criticized the two with an expletive.

It’s not his job, but more worrying than Rodman not lobbying for the release of Rae is the timing of this trip. These bro-downs pull media focus from the parade of atrocities that seem to be constantly happening within the country’s borders. Just the other week, for example, there was this item about the fate of a woman it’s believed was involved with Kim. The National Post passed on a report from a South Korean paper, who said the former pop singer

…was arrested with 11 others on August 17. All 12 were machine-gunned down by a firing squad three days later, while members of their immediate family were forced to watch, the paper reported.

The family members were then sent to prison camps.

Wouldn’t it be nice if that could just be the word on North Korea for a bit? If when the country came up for a few weeks, the first thought would be, “Oh yeah, word is that power-mad fuck killed the woman who sang ‘Excellent Horse-Like Lady’. Jesus”? Getting mad about something Dennis Rodman does is a fool’s game, but c’mon. This isn’t great timing for a friendly visit.